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12
budget 2016
Guardian www.guardian.co.tt Tuesday, October 6, 2015
NIS and Old Age Pensions
Madam Speaker, our present public
sector pension system is outdated.
Before demitting office in 2010, the
previous PNM Administration had
made considerable progress, with the
assistance of international consult-
ants, in developing a new system of
pensions for public servants which
took into account the effects of infla-
tion. However, this project was aban-
doned by the previous administra-
tion.
We will revisit this matter as a
priority and with the assistance of
all stakeholders including the trade
union movement and the financial
community, we will develop a fair,
equitable, modern and sustainable
pension system for the public sector.
Retirees will no longer have to live
on meagre pensions.
Madam Speaker, in the interim I
propose to strengthen and extend
the viability of the national insurance
system to 2036. If this is not done
immediately, the National Insurance
System will be unable to pay future
pensions as was determined by the
9th Actuarial Review of the National
Insurance Fund. This review was
completed some time ago, but was
not laid in this Honourable House.
In keeping with our statutory obli-
gation, we will lay in the shortest
possible time this Review in this
Honourable House, so that all con-
cerned can appreciate and understand
the current situation with respect to
the sustainability of our National
Insurance System. Consistent with
the 9th Actuarial Review, I will intro-
duce legislation to increase all earn-
ings class limits by 13.5 per cent with
the maximum insurable earnings
class limit increasing from $12,000
to $13,600. The contribution rates
will also be increased from 12.0 per-
cent to 13.2 per cent. These adjust-
ments will take effect on July 4, 2016.
In addition, consistent with our
2015 Election Manifesto promise, I
propose to increase the cap on joint
incomes received by retirees in
respect of National Insurance and
Old Age Pensions. The new cap will
now be $5,000, or an additional
$500.00 per month, which will cost
$160.0 million and will put more
money in the pockets of 88,000 sen-
ior citizens. This measure will take
effect on December 1, 2015.
Retirees' programme
Madam Speaker, consistent with
our 2015 Election Manifesto promise,
we will initiate the process for the
creation of a Retirees Benefits Pro-
gramme that will in the first instance
provide free drivers permits and
passports for retirees over the age of
60. This measure will take effect on
January 1, 2016.
Additionally, later in 2016, we will
introduce a system of discounts on
utility bills for other categories of
retirees, among other things.
Public services
Madam Speaker, we are improving
and facilitating the delivery of public
services, commencing with the rein-
troduction of a 10-year validity period
for passports, for adults over the
age of 18, as well as removing the
requirement for our citizens to com-
plete immigration forms at all offi-
cial ports of entry. This measure
will take effect on January 1, 2016.
On-the-Job Training Programme
Madam Speaker, we are ensuring
that our young people entering the
job market are appropriately com-
pensated. To assist our youth, I
propose to increase by 20 per cent
the stipends now paid under the
On-the-Job Training (OJT) Pro-
gramme. This measure will cost
an additional $62.0 million and will
take effect on December 1, 2015.
Graduate recruitment
programme
Madam Speaker, in view of the
fact that we have so many unem-
ployed and/or underemployed uni-
versity graduates in or country
today, we are introducing a Graduate
Recruitment Programme in 2016 in
all 23 Ministries and Tobago. In the
first instance, I propose to provide
$55.0 million for the employment
of at least 20 such university grad-
uates in each Ministry and a suitable
amount in Tobago, or a total of 500
graduates. The programme will be
designed to utilise the core com-
petencies of these graduates in their
various areas of study.
Infrastructure: Incentives
Madam Speaker, the present tax
incentive framework for the con-
struction of facilities necessary for
national development such as
affordable housing, recreational,
sporting and community facilities
and multi-storey car parks has
proven to be largely ineffective. We
need to motivate the private sector
to invest in the construction of pub-
lic facilities, in particular car parks
in urban areas, in order to generate
employment and economic activity
and to provide much needed public
amenities.
After consultation with all of the
major stakeholders and in particular
the construction industry, I propose
to introduce a comprehensive and
workable tax incentive framework
for such facilities at the time of the
mid-year review of the fiscal year
2016 Budget.
Agriculture: Incentives
Madam Speaker, consistent with
our 2015 Election Manifesto prom-
ise, in pursuit of our objective for
achieving food security, we will
exempt from all duties and taxes,
inputs into the agricultural sector,
including approved chemicals, pest
control, approved vehicles, approved
fishing vessels and equipment.
These measures will take effect from
January 1, 2016.
Judicial Services
Madam Speaker, in consultation
with the Judiciary, we intend to
assist the Judicial system, initially
by providing for the introduction
in 2016 of a video conferencing sys-
tem at the Remand Yard as well as
by implementing a pilot project in
2016 under which lay magistrates
will address minor offences, such
as minor traffic offences, thus
reducing the burden on the mag-
istrates court.
Most importantly, consistent with
our 2015 Election Manifesto prom-
ise, to improve the efficiency of the
administration of justice, we intend
to give the Judiciary the financial
autonomy that it has asked for, for
so many years, coupled with the
ability to manage its own resources,
projects and programmes, including
the responsibility for procurement
and construction of judicial facilities.
To achieve this, we intend to
engage in detailed consultation with
the Judiciary early in 2016, to
achieve consensus on practical and
workable mechanisms to facilitate
this paradigm shift by the end of
2016.
Public-Private Partnerships
Madam Speaker, public-private
partnerships will facilitate the roll
out of infrastructure. I have made
a provision of $20.0 million to sup-
port the growth and development
of the technical and operational
aspects of PPP arrangements.
Trade Unions
Madam Speaker, Government will
allocate $15.0 million in 2016 to
assist the Labour Movement in
building capacity and for providing
technical and training support. This
assistance will be divided between
the Joint Trade Union Movement
and the National Trade Union Cen-
tre.
CONCLUSION
Madam Speaker, this 2016 Budget
represents a radical change in the
way our national budgets are pre-
sented. In previous years, the fiscal
measures, the process of formulating
the budget and its underlying
assumptions, such as the basis for
the estimated price of oil, were
shrouded in secrecy.
The language of the budget state-
ments was couched in a way that
made it difficult for the ordinary
man to understand. The estimates
of revenue and expenditure were
presented without proper explana-
tion. The true state of the economy,
the extent of borrowings, the real
deficit between current revenue and
expenditure, our actual cash bal-
ances, the extent of the overdraft
at the Central Bank, and the fact
that we were spending as a country
far more than we earned, were all
kept hidden from the population.
In this budget, we have put an
end to that ill-advised approach.
We have laid bare the true state of
the country s finances and we have
taken the population into our con-
fidence. We firmly believe that in
order to pull ourselves out of the
difficulties which the previous
administration has put this country
in through corruption and rampant
squandermania, we require the col-
lective efforts of all citizens.
In particular, I call on the private
sector and the labour movement to
work with the Government to find
innovative solutions to our current
financial situation and we will wel-
come all and any suggestions and
recommendations to revive our
economy and put us on a sustain-
able growth path.
As a Government, in the spirit
of restoring confidence and rebuild-
ing trust, we pledge to continue to
consult with the population at large,
civil society and sectoral interest
groups, on all matters of national
interest, as we move forward.
As we said in our recent election
campaign, Let s Do This Together.
Madam Speaker, I thank you and
I beg to move.
More money for pensioners